The Silicon Graphics Fuel, introduced in 2002, was intended to be a single-CPU midrange solution

The Silicon Graphics Fuel, introduced in 2002, was intended to be a single-CPU midrange solution

for those customers who did not need multiple-CPU capability, thus offering a much cheaper system

for those customers who did not need multiple-CPU capability, thus offering a much cheaper system

−

compared to a baseline Tezro or top-spec single-CPU Octane2.

+

compared to a baseline Tezro or top-spec single-CPU Octane2. There is at least one anecdotal report that the Fuel was still being manufactured as late as 2010, though in theory availability of all MIPS-based products ended in 2007.<ref name=FuelManufacturing>{{cite web |url=http://www.sunhelp.org/pipermail/rescue/2015-April/136729.html |title=Whither Solaris 10 |mailing-list=sunhelp-rescue |date=April 28 2015 |last=Sturges |first=Jonathan}}</ref>

+

<!-- Note: This should be using the template "cite mailing list", but we don't have it yet. -->

Contrary to popular belief, Fuel was not a successor to O2. SGI never made a follow-on to O2; a

Contrary to popular belief, Fuel was not a successor to O2. SGI never made a follow-on to O2; a

new system was designed (internally known as the Banana2000 or b2k) but was never developed beyond a prototype.

new system was designed (internally known as the Banana2000 or b2k) but was never developed beyond a prototype.

On introduction SGI claimed an industry-leading 3.2 GByte-per-second processor to memory bandwidth, and half that to the graphics subsystem. The Double Data Rate (DDR) DIMMS used are compatible with those used in the [[Origin 3000]], [[Origin 300]], and [[Origin 350]]. There are a total of four slots, organized into two banks of two slots. Each bank must contain parts of the same size, but each bank can vary in size. This results in a memory capacity from 512 MBytes to 4 Gbytes total system memory.

+

On introduction SGI claimed an industry-leading 3.2 GByte-per-second processor to memory bandwidth, and half that to the graphics subsystem. The DIMMS used are compatible with those used in the [[Origin 3000]], [[Origin 300]], [[Origin 350]], and the [[Tezro]]. There are a total of four slots, organized into two banks of two slots. This results in a memory capacity from 512 MBytes to 4 Gbytes total system memory.

{{:Origin 3000 Memory}}

{{:Origin 3000 Memory}}

−

== I/O subsystem ==

+

=== I/O Subsystem ===

*PS2 Mouse/Keyboard ports

*PS2 Mouse/Keyboard ports

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*SCSI CDROM

*SCSI CDROM

−

== Graphics subsystem ==

+

=== Graphics Subsystem ===

The [[VPro]] graphics chipset that SGI started for the [[Octane2]] was also used for this system.

The [[VPro]] graphics chipset that SGI started for the [[Octane2]] was also used for this system.

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*Dual Channel Display option (2 DVI-I ports)

*Dual Channel Display option (2 DVI-I ports)

−

== Sound ==

+

=== Sound ===

Fuel comes with no sound option installed, however the system can be expanded with PCI or USB soundcards (see "Add-on options")

Fuel comes with no sound option installed, however the system can be expanded with PCI or USB soundcards (see "Add-on options")

−

== System ID ==

+

=== System ID ===

The System ID is stored in a Atmel EPROM and [[DS1742W-120]], as discussed on [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16726062 this] forum topic.

The System ID is stored in a Atmel EPROM and [[DS1742W-120]], as discussed on [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16726062 this] forum topic.

−

== Add-on options ==

+

=== Power Supply ===

+

The Fuel used several different power supplies over the life of the model. These units conform to the WTX specification, which has at minimum a different pinout from contemporary ATX units. It is believed that SGI also requested other changes for this application, including a special monitoring circuit documented [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16725574&start=30#p7345870 here] and [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16725574&sid=d7a9c3686ef8ba3fa4acafc4e969c620&start=75#p7388707 here] in the forums.

See the '''Troubleshooting''' section for more information about Fuel power supplies.

+

+

== Add-On Options ==

First section will cover PCI/PCI-X cards, with the official SGI Digital Media options listed first, then alphabetical by interface/function. Second section will cover devices interfaced through said cards that are known to work. ('''ToDo''': Determine if this is useful to abstract into a separate page that can be ''included'' for all IP35-family machines)

First section will cover PCI/PCI-X cards, with the official SGI Digital Media options listed first, then alphabetical by interface/function. Second section will cover devices interfaced through said cards that are known to work. ('''ToDo''': Determine if this is useful to abstract into a separate page that can be ''included'' for all IP35-family machines)

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A number of cheap USB audio devices are known to work for output only, see [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16725440&p=7341670 this thread] for details

A number of cheap USB audio devices are known to work for output only, see [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16725440&p=7341670 this thread] for details

−

== IRIX support ==

−

[[IRIX]] Versions from 6.5.17 up to the latest overlay (6.5.30 at this time) are supported on this machine. Firewire support became functional around 6.5.27

+

== Operating System Support ==

−

==IRIX and hardware bugs ==

+

=== IRIX ===

+

+

[[IRIX]] Versions from 6.5.17 through 6.5.30 are supported on this machine. Firewire support became functional around 6.5.27

+

+

+

== Troubleshooting ==

xfs_fsr locks up the system while running against the file system on any firewire drive. This has been a problem for over two years now with no repair in sight.

xfs_fsr locks up the system while running against the file system on any firewire drive. This has been a problem for over two years now with no repair in sight.

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Temperature sensing on early Fuel mainboards is notoriously prone to failure, rendering the computer inoperable if environment monitoring is left on. Amateur repairs are possible, see here : [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16206]

Temperature sensing on early Fuel mainboards is notoriously prone to failure, rendering the computer inoperable if environment monitoring is left on. Amateur repairs are possible, see here : [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16206]

−

+

=== Fuel PSU Issue and Environmental monitoring ===

−

== Fuel PSU Issue and Environmental monitoring ==

+

Fuel power supplies are variants of off-the-shelf units offered for consumer PCs. However the pinouts, if not hte voltages and functions, differ even though the OEM part numbers do not. This is described in [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16724569 this forum thread] and includes speculation about substituting one for the other. If you pursue this please be aware that you do so at your own risk, but please share the results with the community if you are successful.

Fuel power supplies are variants of off-the-shelf units offered for consumer PCs. However the pinouts, if not hte voltages and functions, differ even though the OEM part numbers do not. This is described in [http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16724569 this forum thread] and includes speculation about substituting one for the other. If you pursue this please be aware that you do so at your own risk, but please share the results with the community if you are successful.

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* [http://www.dualathlonservers.com/powersupplies/nmbps.pdf Very similar PSU]

* [http://www.dualathlonservers.com/powersupplies/nmbps.pdf Very similar PSU]

Latest revision as of 04:29, 9 July 2016

An SGI Fuel

Another SGI Fuel

The Silicon Graphics Fuel, introduced in 2002, was intended to be a single-CPU midrange solution for those customers who did not need multiple-CPU capability, thus offering a much cheaper system compared to a baseline Tezro or top-spec single-CPU Octane2. There is at least one anecdotal report that the Fuel was still being manufactured as late as 2010, though in theory availability of all MIPS-based products ended in 2007.[1]

Contrary to popular belief, Fuel was not a successor to O2. SGI never made a follow-on to O2; a new system was designed (internally known as the Banana2000 or b2k) but was never developed beyond a prototype.

System Architecture

CPU Options

Memory Subsystem

On introduction SGI claimed an industry-leading 3.2 GByte-per-second processor to memory bandwidth, and half that to the graphics subsystem. The DIMMS used are compatible with those used in the Origin 3000, Origin 300, Origin 350, and the Tezro. There are a total of four slots, organized into two banks of two slots. This results in a memory capacity from 512 MBytes to 4 Gbytes total system memory.

All models based on the Origin 3000 architecture use Double Data Rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM), at the lowest level organized into banks of two DIMMs each - memory may only be added or removed from the system in pairs of two DIMMs. Both DIMMs within a bank must be of the same density, however two different banks may hold different density DIMMs from each other.

SGI produced DIMMs with capacities of 256MB to 1GB, using DRAM chips with densities of either 128 Mbits or 256 Mbits. All DIMMs include directory memory to support cache coherence between local and remote memory, but some parts include "premium" directory memory which is recommended for configurations with more than 128 processors. Memory was generally marketed in kits of two DIMMs, where the capacity of the kit would be given as 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB.

The following table shows the part numbers for individual DIMMs according to their capacity.

Origin 3000 Family DIMM Part Numbers

Capacity

Standard Directory

Premium Directory

Notes

256 MB

030-1018-00x

512 MB

030-1044-00x, 030-1746-00x,

DATARAM 63610?

030-1041-00x, 030-1042-00x,

DATARAM 63673 ?

1 GB

030-1850-00x,

DATARAM 63646?

030-1060-00x,

DATARAM 63674?

I/O Subsystem

PS2 Mouse/Keyboard ports

One 10BaseT/100BaseT Ethernet

Two serial RS232 ports (DB9)

One bidirectional parallel port

Two USB ports

4 PCI slots: 2x 66MHz and 2x 33MHz 64bit

2 Internal SCSI Controllers QL12160

SCSI CDROM

Graphics Subsystem

The VPro graphics chipset that SGI started for the Octane2 was also used for this system.

Sound

Fuel comes with no sound option installed, however the system can be expanded with PCI or USB soundcards (see "Add-on options")

System ID

The System ID is stored in a Atmel EPROM and DS1742W-120, as discussed on this forum topic.

Power Supply

The Fuel used several different power supplies over the life of the model. These units conform to the WTX specification, which has at minimum a different pinout from contemporary ATX units. It is believed that SGI also requested other changes for this application, including a special monitoring circuit documented here and here in the forums.

See the Troubleshooting section for more information about Fuel power supplies.

Add-On Options

First section will cover PCI/PCI-X cards, with the official SGI Digital Media options listed first, then alphabetical by interface/function. Second section will cover devices interfaced through said cards that are known to work. (ToDo: Determine if this is useful to abstract into a separate page that can be included for all IP35-family machines)

A number of cheap USB audio devices are known to work for output only, see this thread for details

Operating System Support

IRIX

IRIX Versions from 6.5.17 through 6.5.30 are supported on this machine. Firewire support became functional around 6.5.27

Troubleshooting

xfs_fsr locks up the system while running against the file system on any firewire drive. This has been a problem for over two years now with no repair in sight.

Temperature sensing on early Fuel mainboards is notoriously prone to failure, rendering the computer inoperable if environment monitoring is left on. Amateur repairs are possible, see here : [1]

Fuel PSU Issue and Environmental monitoring

Fuel power supplies are variants of off-the-shelf units offered for consumer PCs. However the pinouts, if not hte voltages and functions, differ even though the OEM part numbers do not. This is described in this forum thread and includes speculation about substituting one for the other. If you pursue this please be aware that you do so at your own risk, but please share the results with the community if you are successful.

TODO: write about L1 monitoring of PSU fan speeds and the Fuel just knowing its not a SGI PSU.